St. Petersburg, FL — February 27, 2022
NASCAR opened their season last week at Daytona International Speedway. A drive down Interstate 4 to Tampa, then a hop across the bay to the streets of St. Petersburg’s waterfront, and Florida residents welcome the opener of the NTT IndyCar Series.
Mother Nature provided perfect weather for fans to enjoy the excitement of America’s two biggest national race series. The setting of the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg features views of the St. Petersburg Yacht Club basin, Albert Whitted Airport, and the waters of Tampa Bay.
“The Sunshine City” fans flocked to the event setting an all-time attendance record selling out the venue.
Qualifying
Scott McLaughlin won the pole for today’s 100-lap race on the 14-turn, 1.8-mile street course. Will Power will start beside McLaughlin on the front row.
Starting Lineup
1st – Scott McLaughlin
2nd – Will Power
3rd – Colton Herta
4th – Rinus VeeKay
5th – Romain Grosjean
6th – Simon Pagenaud
7th – Scott Dixon
8th – Marcus Ericsson
9th – Josef Newgarden
10th – Alex Palou
11th – Graham Rahal
12th – Kyle Kirkwood
13th – Alexander Rossi
14th – Dalton Kellett
15th – Christian Lundgaard
16th – Pato O’Ward
17th – Helio Castroneves
18th – Devlin DeFrancesco
19th – Callum Ilott
20th – Conor Daly
21st – Felix Rosenqvist
22nd – Takuma Sato
23rd – Jack Harvey
24th – David Malukas
25th – Tatiana Calderon
26th – Jimmie Johnson
Fan favorite and four-time Indianapolis 500 winner Helio Castroneves did not qualify well and will start in the 17th position.
Takuma Sato, the two-time Indy 500 champion is also in the race, he will start 22nd on the grid. Seven-time NASCAR champion, Jimmie Johnson starts at the back of the pack in 26th position.
The Race
Scott McLaughlin was unstoppable in the lead. Starting from the pole McLaughlin used a two pit stop strategy to lead 49 laps and secure his first win in the series. Indycar defending champion Alex Palou finished second closing to within a half a second of McLaughlin at the finish.
Results of the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg
| Position | Car | Driver | Laps | Total Time | Laps Led | Status |
| 1 | 3 | Scott McLaughlin | 100 | 51:27.3 | 49 | Running |
| 2 | 10 | Alex Palou | 100 | 51:27.9 | 1 | Running |
| 3 | 12 | Will Power | 100 | 51:29.8 | 1 | Running |
| 4 | 26 | Colton Herta | 100 | 51:43.2 | – | Running |
| 5 | 28 | Romain Grosjean | 100 | 51:45.8 | – | Running |
| 6 | 21 | Rinus VeeKay | 100 | 51:48.0 | 13 | Running |
| 7 | 15 | Graham Rahal | 100 | 51:48.8 | – | Running |
| 8 | 9 | Scott Dixon | 100 | 51:49.4 | 26 | Running |
| 9 | 8 | Marcus Ericsson | 100 | 51:49.7 | – | Running |
| 10 | 51 | Takuma Sato | 100 | 51:50.6 | – | Running |
| 11 | 30 | Christian Lundgaard | 100 | 51:51.8 | – | Running |
| 12 | 5 | Pato O’Ward | 100 | 51:53.6 | – | Running |
| 13 | 45 | Jack Harvey | 100 | 51:59.0 | – | Running |
| 14 | 6 | Helio Castroneves | 100 | 52:00.9 | – | Running |
| 15 | 60 | Simon Pagenaud | 100 | 52:01.6 | – | Running |
| 16 | 2 | Josef Newgarden | 100 | 52:03.6 | – | Running |
| 17 | 7 | Felix Rosenqvist | 100 | 52:06.4 | – | Running |
| 18 | 14 | Kyle Kirkwood | 100 | 52:25.5 | – | Running |
| 19 | 77 | Callum Ilott | 100 | 52:26.1 | – | Running |
| 20 | 27 | Alexander Rossi | 100 | 52:26.5 | 10 | Running |
| 21 | 20 | Conor Daly | 100 | 52:27.5 | – | Running |
| 22 | 29 | Devlin DeFrancesco | 100 | 52:30.2 | – | Running |
| 23 | 48 | Jimmie Johnson | 99 | 51:41.0 | – | Running |
| 24 | 11 | Tatiana Calderon | 97 | 51:33.4 | – | Running |
| 25 | 4 | Dalton Kellett | 62 | 27:32.8 | – | Mechanical |
| 26 | 18 | David Malukas | 23 | 25:12.2 | – | Contact |
